Philadelphia Phillies (13-12) vs. Chicago Cubs (16-10)
April 26, 2025 4:05 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Cubs -108 / Philadelphia Phillies -112; Over/Under: 0.0001
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The Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs meet Saturday in MLB action from Wrigley Field. This will be the second installment in a three-game weekend series. Here’s a Cubs vs Phillies prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Cubs vs Phillies pick.
Philadelphia Phillies Betting Preview
The Phillies kicked off the 2025 campaign by winning a set versus the Washington Nationals, then swept the Colorado Rockies from there. Philadelphia would then take out the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game set ahead of a series loss against the Braves. Philadelphia fell in the next set versus the Cardinals then bagged a four-game split versus the Giants. Last weekend Philadelphia took out the Marlins in two of three games before losing their first two versus the Mets 5-4 and 5-1. On Wednesday Philly blew a 10th-inning lead and ended up falling 4-3 in a tough result. Starter Zack Wheeler put up 6.0 innings with two earned runs on five hits and two walks alongside nine Ks.
In the Friday opener versus the Cubs, the Phillies were out-hit 11-5 in a shutout defeat 4-0. JT Realmuto had two of the team’s hits, and starter Taijuan Walker lasted just 3.0 innings with two earned on six hits and two walks.
For Saturday’s starting pitcher slot, the Phillies will send out Jesus Luzardo. This year Luzardo is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in five starts over 30.1 innings total. Luzardo is 28-34 with a 4.17 ERA in 110 career games (94 starts).
Chicago Cubs Betting Preview
Over on the Cubs’ side, they managed to halve four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in their first series, then took a sweep over the Oakland Athletics ahead of a set victory versus the San Diego Padres. Chicago then won another series against the Texas Rangers, then bested the Los Angeles Dodgers in two of three games. Following a set loss to the Padres, the Cubs managed to get victories in two of three during the rematch with the Diamondbacks last weekend. Chicago posted an 11-10 win in a wild outcome versus the Dodgers on Tuesday, then in the Wednesday game the Cubs bagged another tight win, this time 7-6. Chicago posted all seven runs across the fourth and fifth innings in the victory. Pete Crow-Armstrong had a homer with four RBI and three hits to lead the offense.
On Friday Chicago got two hits and an RBI from both Ian Happ and Jon Berti (run). Starter Colin Rea was great on 5.0 clean frames, three hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.
Starting pitcher for Chicago on Saturday will be Ben Brown. This year Brown is 2-1 with a 4.57 ERA in five games (four starts) over 21.2 innings. Brown is 3-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 career games (12 starts) in the MLB.
Cubs vs Phillies Prediction
I’ll lean toward Philly in this one, but it should be a nice matchup. Luzardo has been pretty good this year, though he hasn’t managed to get a decision in any of his last three. There’s one spotty appearance in there (three earned in 5.1 innings versus the Giants), but the other two were solid. Luzardo posted a combined 13.0 innings with two earned runs on 14 hits and one walk in that pair. If he can keep it going, he’ll be tough for the Cubs bats to crack. As for Brown, he had a rough outing versus the Padres on April 6 (4.0 innings; five earned) but he’s done well in his last pair. Brown is 1-0 in those two with one earned in 10.0 innings on eight hits and four walks combined.
Philadelphia’s offense needs a bounce-back after a rough outing Friday. Outside of Realmuto and a handful of walks (four) there wasn’t much going on—and none of it paid off. We’ll see how things go in game two.
